The Best Beer Pairings for Barbecue and Grilling Season

Five great brews to drink with meats and veggies cooked on the grill, fired in the smoker, or slathered with sauceby Joshua M. Bernstein

B
arbecue season is upon us, and for many, it's a merry time of spatulas, tongs, and belly-stuffing celebrations with family and friends, along with exalting mankind's most primal union: fire and meat. But while apron-clad cooks obsessively select their cuts of meat and measure marinades with scientific precision that would impress a Top Chef, the beer pairing is barely given a thought. After all, beer is beer, right?

Not quite. Each protein (whether surf or turf) or vegetable has a singular flavor profile and deserves to be carefully coupled with a beer, and one that's not just a can of the cheapest ubiquitous lager. Think about it: A fragrant, refreshing hefeweizen like Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier may be a grand grilled-vegetable or -shellfish pairing, but it's overwhelmed by the earthy, rich flavors of a hamburger or a steak. Instead, red meats work well with a dark, easy-to-drink schwarzbier or black lager, such as Full Sail Session Black. The strong, gamy flavor of lamb can be tamed by a figgy, malt-forward Belgian-style dubbel (a rich ale made with twice the standard amount of malt) such as Ommegang Abbey, which would dominate grilled chicken. Fowl finds its best match in a rustic, farmhouse-house style ale, like Saison Dupont.

So before you dump charcoal into the grill or click the ignition button, make a run to your local beer store to stock up on these suds. Every great backyard barbecue deserves a great beeror five.

Pair with Beef: Full Sail Session Black, Oregon

($10 for a six-pack)
5.4 percent ABV

Call it a delicious contradiction: Though this full-bodied schwarzbier is as dark as the depths of night, it drinks deceptively light, boasting flavors of chocolate and roasted malts that match up nicely to a well-charred burger or steak. The lager's crispness also ably slices through beef's luscious fatty flavors, leaving you longing for another sip, then another bite. Repeat as necessary.

The Ultimate Burger
A handsome char helps this simple yet flavorful salt-and-pepper burger meet its equal in the schwarzbier's dark malts. The generous effervescence helps wash down the rich juices.

Pair with Lamb: Ommegang Abbey Ale, New York

($7 for a 750-milliliter bottle)
8.5 percent ABV

Headquartered in Cooperstown, New York, Brewery Ommegang makes some of America's finest Belgian-inspired ales, including the ruby-hued Abbey. For a beer of this style, it's fairly high in alcohol by volume (many Belgian ales fall somewhere between 5 and 7 percent ABV), but you won't taste it. Instead, you'll get dried-fruit flavors and a tidbit of sweetness that help Abbey stand up to the lamb's rustic, earthy taste.

Grilled Lamb Sandwiches With Grilled Green Onions
The hearty, intensely rich and fruity beer can stand up to the lamb's strong flavor and lovely charred character without getting bowled over. They're two immovable forces that have reached a tasty accord.

Pair with Chicken: Saison Dupont, Belgium

($9 for a 750-milliliter bottle)
6.5 percent ABV

Originally brewed to slake Belgian fieldworkers' thirst, the saison has evolved into a catchall style that ranges from dry and hoppy to sweet and spicy, from the color of pale straw to burned amber. Saison Dupont, though, is the standard-bearer. Made on a farm in Belgium, this ale is sublimely citrusy with lively carbonation and hints of pepper and a clean, dry finish, making Dupont compulsively drinkable.

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Beer Can Chicken
Use your favorite everyday canned lager for cooking, but drink the fresh, spice-forward saison as you enjoy the moist, zingy meat.

The Southern Californian Stone Brewing Co. may be best known for its hopped-up ales, but it has a deft touch with dark brews, too, especially this first-rate Smoked Porter. It's crafted with a measure of peat-smoked malt that imparts an appealing smoky character, making the beer a suitable fit for pulled pork and other smoked swine. Robust flavors of chocolate and coffee contribute waves of complexity.

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North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork
The hickory-smoked, fall-apart pig snuggles up to the smooth-drinking porter's rich, roasty bitterness and campfire undercurrent.

This classic Bavarian wheat beer is a summer standby, best served in a towering glass capped by an alluring crown of bone-white foam; no lemon needed, please. The hazy brew's beguiling aroma of bananas and cloves match a tingly carbonation, notes of citrus, and a light peppery spice. Besides a subtly flavored bratwurst or Weisswurst, this all-day drink would splendidly accompany grilled vegetables or shellfish.

Prices and availability subject to change.

Joshua M. Bernstein has written for numerous magazines, newspapers, and Web sites, including The New York Times, Gourmet.com,Forbes Traveler, New York magazine, andTime Out New York. He wrote a weekly food-and-drink column for the New York Press for seven years and is a beer features writer forImbibe. He is the author of Brewed Awakening: Behind the Beers and Brewers Leading the World's Craft Brewing Revolution and lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he leads homebrew tours and drinks plenty of beer. You can find him atjoshuambernstein.com.